The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
Golfjazz is part of The Colognes, D.S. & Durga's ongoing excavation of American men's fragrance archetypes. David Seth Moltz approaches fragrance as cultural archaeology, translating specific places and moments into scent. The colognes of the 1980s New England sporting class were heavy green chypres, sport compositions, the kind of fragrances that announced a man before he said a word. Golfjazz is that fantasy. A golf fantasy by a guy who doesn't play golf. The name itself, Golfjazz, captures the tension: precision and improvisation, the course and the clubhouse.
The note structure tells the story. Lime opens bright and tart, immediately sporty. Leather anchors it with something slightly worn, slightly formal. The heart is where it gets interesting: mint, moss, and patchouli create a layered green that deepens rather than sweetens. This isn't fresh summer grass, it's the dense green of old-school chypre. The base of mimosa, cypress, and cedar brings in powdery warmth and woody structure, softening the edges without losing the character.
The evolution
The opening hits fast: lime bright and tart, leather just underneath. That citrus-leather combination lasts for the first part of the wear, sharp and present. Then the grass note takes over, not fresh-cut lawn, but something denser, more herbal. Mint arrives, lending a clean coolness that prevents the green from becoming too heavy. The heart phase is where Golfjazz earns its name: deep, layered, almost meditative green. Moss and patchouli build, creating an aromatic depth that feels both vintage and deliberate. As the wear progresses, the drydown settles. Mimosa's yellow floral warmth emerges, powdery and soft. Cypress and cedar provide the structure underneath, woody and slightly resinous. The final hours are quiet, a mossy-woody trail that stays close to the skin, the kind of fragrance that someone standing next to you will notice before you do.
Cultural impact
Golfjazz sits in D.S. & Durga's The Colognes collection, a revival of old-school men's fragrance categories. The house is reclaiming the DNA of 1980s sport colognes and green chypres. The reception among fragrance enthusiasts has been focused on that mossy, singular green character. It's polarizing: either you're into that heavy vintage energy or you're not. For those who remember those original sport colognes, it hits a specific nostalgia. For those discovering them now, it's a window into a specific moment in American fragrance history.
The House
DS&DurgaD.S. & Durga is a Brooklyn-based fragrance house founded in 2007 by husband-and-wife team David Seth Moltz and Kavi Ahuja Moltz. David Seth Moltz, a self-taught perfumer and former indie musician, composes all the house scents while Kavi handles visual design. The brand creates immersive fragrances inspired by specific feelings, places, and cultural moments, ranging from the American West (J. Crew Homesteader's Cologne, 2013) to historical periods (Beverly Hills 1985, 2010) and abstract emotional states (You Kill Me With Silence, 2018). D.S. & Durga is notably a perfumer-owned house, giving the founder creative control across the entire brand. Their catalog spans chypres, colognes, and aromatic compositions, with later releases including Royal Purpure and King Majesty Bergamot Chypre (2024). The brand operates from Brooklyn, New York, and has developed a following among fragrance enthusiasts drawn to its narrative-driven approach.
The Creator
David Seth MoltzSelf-taught and deliberately unconstrained by classical training, Moltz favors an unconventional palette that includes unconventional materials alongside traditional ones. His fragrances tend toward the narrative and atmospheric, often featuring sharp contrasts: sweet against…
